Chapter 13 Part4 (1/2)

<chapter 13.=”” arema=”” steelworker=”” -=”” 4=””>

”A golem...?”

Lee s.h.i.+n Woo muttered as he saw the message informing them of the ident.i.ty of the t.i.tan before them. He expected him to be an undead that hadn't lost its reasoning, or a human that held out inside of a dungeon so that he could survive, but he hadn't expected him to be a golem...

[Of course I am. What else, besides a golem, could retain its sanity within the Empire?]

That's why I'm so interested in you two, the golem added as his eyes lit up. He possessed a human's eyes, skin, face, and hair; he perfectly resembled a human being, so if Lee s.h.i.+n Woo hadn't learned that information from the message, he wouldn't have known that he was actually a golem.

[Though I'd like to ask you about your ident.i.ty right at this very moment... the General would like to see you, so follow me for now.]

”What are you going to do?”

”...Let's go.”

He couldn't precisely ascertain the situation, but there was something that bothered him. It was the fact that the golem's name was Guillotine 'Steelworker'.

Based on the memories that dwelled within the Original Core, Arema Steelworker was definitely the director. Was it just coincidence that part of his name was similar to the director's? Lee s.h.i.+n Woo thought that wasn't possible.

'Then, whether it's General Seagald or not isn't the issue here.'

The golem bearing the name of Steelworker was a level 7 powerhouse. If that's the case, then what about the director, Arema Steelworker? He would obviously be an even higher level than the golem... then, wouldn't he be the general the golem's talking about? Lee s.h.i.+n Woo had definitely miscalculated.

'I didn't think that golems were making other golems. I didn't think that, but... if I think that way, it all makes sense. Golems can't turn into the undead and they shouldn't die of old age either... But it's way too surprising that there's a golem with an innate ego. And a high leveled ego at that.'

[Don't mess with the other doors on the way and just follow straight behind me. Since you could set off a trap.]

”Ah.”

”Alright.”

Around the time that Lee s.h.i.+n Woo's head was filled with complications, the golem spoke calmly. Jin, who had been observing the doors that lined the pa.s.sageway, was shocked and slightly stepped back.

It was so huge that it was difficult to take his eyes off it. There were several roads that branched off from the pa.s.sageway and even those forked roads branched out into several different paths. Jin wouldn't have known any better, but Lee s.h.i.+n Woo clearly felt a ma.s.s of powerful mana at the end of each of those forked roads.

'Ha..'

Lee s.h.i.+n Woo just laughed. It made sense how they threw away level 3 or level 4 golems like they were nothing. It was possible for the contents of any one of these several dozen rooms to be able to take down all of those weak golems that were destroyed by Lee s.h.i.+n Woo and Jin before.

It was possible since they wouldn't lose anything from neglecting the golems or letting them be destroyed. Lee s.h.i.+n Woo started to become curious as to what their mission was. But for starters, it did seem like they definitely weren't on the side of the Imperial Army, which had degenerated into the undead...

[We've arrived.]

”It's a huge door.”

[Consider it an honor. It's not a door that anyone can just enter whenever they wish, aside from the knights that guard the general.]

The door lock looked similar to that of the Anti-Skull's secret facility's, and when Guillotine Steelworker placed his hand on it, a complex mana seal formed atop his hand and released the locking mechanism.

Lee s.h.i.+n Woo couldn't help but be amazed as he saw the door lock and the mana pattern of the seal intersect and delicately, gradually release the lock. It was an interaction that was worlds apart from Anti-Skull's door lock! It felt like Lee s.h.i.+n Woo's mana senses had advanced just by watching the process.

[Even if you pay such close attention to it, you probably won't be able to do it yourself so easily. Since it's something only golems can do. Now, go in. The General's waiting for you.]

”Haha.”

For a golem, he was quick on the uptake. Lee s.h.i.+n Woo just smiled bitterly, followed behind him, and stepped into the room.

The first thing he saw was a huge table. Next was the absurdly high ceiling. Finally, what he saw was...

[Lv8 Golem Zero - Golden General Arema Steelworker]

He was a golem that boasted a height of more than six meters even while sitting down.

”Hoh...”

”Ugh.”

[How peculiar.]

The general remained seated while examining them and then slowly stood up. When Lee s.h.i.+n Woo saw that the Golden General, Arema Steelworker, almost touched the ceiling at his full height, he was completely overwhelmed.

He didn't match the Lv5 Treasure Eater in terms of size, but the quality and density of his mana was worlds apart. It was to the point that he'd feel bad comparing that dirty caterpillar to him side by side.

[I don't feel the curse's mana from you at all. This s.p.a.ce is filled to the brim with the curse, yet I feel like the curse is bouncing off of you. From an undead, who is neither a human nor a golem. ...Who, exactly, are you?]

”...”

Jin was completely terrified by his strength and stiffened in place. On the other hand, Lee s.h.i.+n Woo remained silent thinking about how he should respond.

The golem before him was powerful, and possessed a method of observing the flow of mana that far surpa.s.sed Lee s.h.i.+n Woo's own. He even contemplated and acted like a human. The fact that he was a golem didn't matter right now. Lee s.h.i.+n Woo needed to a.s.sume that he was smarter than him in every aspect.

'Can I just tell him the truth? Even that we're heroes as well?'

If the Golden General was hostile to the undead, it wouldn't hurt if they told him they were heroes. Since it would confirm that they were both on the same side.

But there was too much he didn't know about them right now. If they don't understand, they could end up dead and would have just given them unnecessary information. If that's the case, then first... Lee s.h.i.+n Woo stuck out his nonexistent tongue, licked his nonexistent lips with saliva he didn't even have, and opened his mouth.

”Do you know... about Anti-Skull?”

This was the start of his lies.

[Did you volunteer for the Anti-Skull Project? You even know about that?]